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“I decided to finish the remainder of the sample of this tea this afternoon. Last time I used water at 195° but, in hopes of getting more of a higher, floral note out of it, I’m doing this batch at...”
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“Drinking this today out of a beaten up chipped and stained infuser mug I got in Chinatown – lmao! Looks like I might need a new mug very soon. :)
When I think of a classic high mountain...”
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“Got the samples from Tea from Taiwan today, and they were packed in nice little vacuum-sealed pouches. I decided to start with this one. Not sure about everyone else, but whenever I get something...”
Read full tasting note

From Tea from Taiwan

Winter 2009

Four Season oolong tea (wu long tea) is a varietal grown in the Alishan (Mount Ali) tea region of Taiwan. Alishan is one of Taiwan’s most famous tea areas. The rich soil combined with the daily fog produces ideal conditions for growing tea.

Four Season tea is a high-mountain (gao shan) tea which has been hand-picked and hand-processed by traditional methods. It is an excellent daily tea with a smooth sweet taste and pleasing colour. Four Season tea is the best oolong available in this price range. It compares well with some of our more expensive teas.

12 Tasting Notes

I decided to finish the remainder of the sample of this tea this afternoon. Last time I used water at 195° but, in hopes of getting more of a higher, floral note out of it, I’m doing this batch at 175°.

And oh yes, that was a good decision. Apparently, twenty degrees lower makes this tea rich, heavy and super duper buttery. It’s insanely full-flavor but with an overall very dark flavor profile. There are no high or floral notes like what I was looking for, but the flavor is so full that I just don’t care. There’s some vegetable flavor – something green that I’m pretty sure most kiddies wouldn’t want to eat – but it isn’t a vegetables-boiled-in-water-vegetable. Instead, it’s more pickled vegetable but with no actual pickle flavor, just the fuller, spicy flavor that comes with pickles when compared to the non-pickled vegetable counterpart.

This tea is much more interesting now and so I’m finally feeling confident enough to rate it. Shoot, I might have to go and buy some, too. 4g/8oz

Preparation

So that was not what I expected. The smell is very misleading, at least for me it was. This tastes just like a very subtle jasmin tea. There is a sweetness too it and the jasmin taste isn’t very over powering like it can be with some teas. I love this one and would drink again and again.

Preparation

Drinking this today out of a beaten up chipped and stained infuser mug I got in Chinatown – lmao! Looks like I might need a new mug very soon. :)

When I think of a classic high mountain oolong something like this would come to mind.The dry leaf smells a bit floral and a bit like licorice in the bag.

This was steeped for around 2 minutes at 180 F. I got a sweet, mildly buttery and rich tea which is very soothing. It has a nice floral aroma as well.

I steeped it again and the second steep was much like the first. I am enjoying it and would consider ordering it again if I ever place another order with Tea from Taiwan. Still nothing about it really stands out among the other oolongs I have tried from the same company. In a way I will be kind of glad when these samples are all gone and I can move on to something else. :))

Preparation

Got the samples from Tea from Taiwan today, and they were packed in nice little vacuum-sealed pouches. I decided to start with this one. Not sure about everyone else, but whenever I get something from a foreign country, I feel the need to keep the packaging. :) These cute little packages with Chinese writing are definitely getting saved.

Dry leaves: The leaves are fairly small for an oolong, most of them around the size of gunpowder green pellets, but some are larger. They have a nice pear-like scent

Brewing: The tea steeps a nice pale yellow color like dried daisies. The steeping leaves a peachy smell with a slight marine quality. The leaves expand nicely, and most are in good condition.

1st steep: The first steep of this tea has a surprisingly vegetal/brothy flavor, something I haven’t encountered in an oolong before. There is a nice, fresh pear taste mixed with the vegetal qualities of a Pi Lo Chun and the brew has a natural sugarcane sweetness. The flavor lingers on the top of the tongue.

2nd steep: The second steep continues on the themes of the first, but this time with reduced vegetal tastes replaced by a slight grassyness and cooked peach flavor.

3rd steep: The third steep show continued reduction of the vegetal qualities and increasing sweetness. There is a slight hint of vanilla bean.

4th steep: Even sweeter yet, the dominant flavors in this steep are those of peach and vanilla with a slight floral touch. The later steeps remained similar and gradually lost flavor.

It is lovely out (FINALLY feels like fall), I got some great teas in the mail, and the speakers outside the basketball arena (which are ALWAYS on) were playing New Fang by Them Crooked Vultures when I walked by. I think its safe to say that today is a good day.

I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to tell my five Tea From Taiwan samples apart, but this one woke the part of my brain that likes that roasted flavor from fired teas. This tea has a bright, floral aroma alongside a buttery toastiness. When the toasted aroma hit me I immediately (albeit briefly) thought of popcorn maybe its the butteriness! I’m making my second mug now.

Mmm- is the second steeping of oolong always better than the first? So far they have been for me. I spent about a minute just enjoying the aroma. This might be my favorite after Tie Guan Yin!

Wow, I’m really pleased with this and sad it stayed at the back of my cupboard for so long after I received it. I got six really solid infusions from it last night and it was only starting to go downhill. Lightly buttery, a bit darker-tasting than I expected but sweet and smooth.

So this is the second of the three samples I got from Tea from Taiwan, and I am sad because I don’t feel like I did it justice. I am saving the last one for a day when I can really focus on my tea making and not be so distracted by papers.

So 1st steep was just ok, very earthy, not as sweet and light as I like my oolongs to be. Second steep I let sit WAAAAY to long so that’s my fault, and then I only got the chance to have one more that day. The last one was nice, still deeper and smoother than the milk oolong I reviewed from them a few weeks ago. I liked it but I think I would have liked it more if I had of done a better job with my preparing.

Preparation

I opened this sampler pack and found the tea somewhat crumbled and not wanting to get a bunch of leaves in my mouth, I decided to brew this “Western” style in my Teavana “Perfect Tea” maker. I did the whole 7 grams to about 14 ounces water and the brew was delicious. Much better than the stuff I have been getting lately from brewing “Eastern” style. I am thinking I either don’t have enough leaf or my Yixing is just too big and I need to use less water. Any input or ideas is appreciated.

Back to the tea. Very substantial mouthfeel. Tasted to me like a good Oolong you get in a Chinese restaurant (where they also do it Western style). I would order this if the price isn’t too bad so am saving the wrapper for when I run out of Oolong samplers from Tea from Taiwan. I think the bad thing about a Western style is the second steep…which I did for 6 minutes at 195 was noticeably weak so I didn’t try a third.

Preparation

Out of the 4 teas I’ve tasted since I received my sampler packs, this one has stood out the most! Well, I have to admit rui feng did also since it was my first milk oolong.. but this tea is awesome. It is really full-bodied and after the first few sips I immediately felt like I had to write a comment about it =) It actually tastes a bit milky too!

Edit: Going to bump this down some, the 2nd and third steeps were just no where near as awesome as the first =( 1st steep = 93 rating = omg bliss i might just buy it for the first steeping anyways

Flavor: This has a lightly buttery taste, and a very slight bitterness. I can taste some of the floral from the aroma, and this also has a nutty finish in the first cup. The second cup was fascinating and had a light vegetable flavor. Then there were some fruity hints in the third cup, like grape. This tea was a chameleon!

Preparation

I think you’re right! I need to pay closer attention to that. I am really starting to appreciate oolongs, but as I try more, I find that many of the lightly oxidized oolongs taste similar. None have been exactly the same, though. I was a little disappointed at first, but I think I just need to be on the lookout for what makes each one unique!

For me, their true colours really shine with gongfu brewing method. I mean, you still get a decent cup western style, but you miss so much on the way they evolve with short steeps.
Have you tried some aged roasted oolong? My favourite is 2003 Reserve Four Season from Butiki…a REAL chameleon that one, roasty with super sweet caramel notes, spectacular!

I know. You’re totally right, but I am just way too lazy to brew that way most of the time. I do try to do at least one gong fu style brew with each tea at some point. By the time I get home from work, I am beat, so I really just want to curl up with a book and a cuppa. I know I am probably missing out on some subtleties, but I’ve also found some teas that are truly amazing, even when brewed lazy style :p

I totally understand, short steeps require more prep and time. Lol, “lazy style” works for me too most of the time ;-) In fact, there are teas I even prefer that way. Laoshan Black for instance is one of them!